England 2009
"For the initiate, the laws of the other world are encapsulated in several maxims, student…"
Morgan le Fae , the daughter of a British engineering magnate in Sheffield - who made most of his fortune in the last decades mining rich Trinnium deposits for aerospace research and development for several countries including Japan and the United states - had no idea his daughter was in fact a high Priestess of the Goddess, nor would he have cared.
Morgan, known to her students as Lady Dion, a name chosen for the magical work, was a strong, independent woman. She was also Usagi's teacher and mentor.
She had been out on the Moors, performing a harvest rite, for her sect and Silver Moon Order of Stellar Maris when she saw it; a light, out on the cliff tops. She moved in its direction fearing it was either a lost soul seeking to release themselves from their mortal coil, or something else – it was the latter.
The young woman was a tourist, this she knew by reading her aura, and there was something profound about this meeting and she understood that as well.
"In the name of Serenity, I seek knowledge; mother can you hear me? Why only in dreams must you give me riddles? Who is meant to show me, and explain why I am shattered, like the Ginzuishou, and then cast into eddies of time's restless tides? I want my life back, I want to live as a mortal, but no you drive me to the point of madness with these dreams of which I understand next to nothing. What of this girl, Beryl?" Usagi cried into the wind, tears of frustration running down her cheeks.
The girl, in a sundress, lavender with a woolen shawl draping her shoulders now trembled, quaking to the night as if the answers would come from the angry sea below.
Morgan stood in silence, listening to the girl with the blonde odango, and nodded as Luna, her familiar and soon to be close guardian of the moon maiden trotted up to Usagi and sat a pace or two behind the young woman.
Morgan had known in an instant the girl was unique and not of this world; definitely not a spirit or entity of which she had plenty of experience in dealing with such things. The girl wasn't a roguish thought form, poltergeist, and a product of a haunted house, none of these things.
She should know of course, for it was her stock in trade as a high priestess of the Goddess Isis and this linked her to the Ginzuishou Lady; a being so powerful it had shaken the younger Morgan through a series of visions upon puberty. She smiled. Morgan's mother understood, as she too was a former high priestess of Isis.
"Usagi, I have come to guide you," Morgan's own voice had seemed to desert her; she sounded alien, even to herself. "I am speaking through the vessel I have sent to guide you into the mysteries of Isis, the knowledge you will need to reach the one you once fought on the battle field in the Silver Millennium and in a parallel universe in Tokyo of the 21st century. She will help, I have every faith in you, go now as the hungry ghosts and entities of these moors seek to claim your life-force child."
Usagi, having spun around, began to cry, the image of Serenity, her mother silhouetted itself over the body of this fair-haired teacher, and extending a delicate hand, she uttered but one word, "Come!"
Athens Greece 2014
Backstage
Before the show, Beryl had been excited; so much so, she looked rested and refreshed. Kunzite arched an eyebrow and smiled. However, he felt a sense of guilt rush over him as thoughts of Minako stark naked came to mind. The blonde bombshell looked a touch pale after having earlier met up with Rei and Makoto in downtown Athens prior to the show and he was curious about that and intended to broach the subject tonight-in bed.
Minako shied away from Beryl’s inquisitive stare and Kunzite knew he’d have to come clean and talk to Beryl and end the relationship. He didn’t look forward to that in the slightest. It had to be done. He hated himself in that moment as Beryl looked great and more beautiful for her having rested up and the excitement in her eyes was palpable.
Beryl felt something was wrong but wouldn’t press the matter, and besides she had a gig to think about and that took priority right now.
“You guys ready to go? As you can see, I’ve gotten a solid night’s sleep and no fucking booze for once!”
She winked at Kunzite who winced, and forced a smile. He felt two inches high in that moment and couldn’t meet her eyes.
“Oh Beryl, that’s awesome,” Rei said, entering the room and hugging her friend. “I got to tell you, you’re looking so much better. I was worried about you, girlfriend. Oh, and guess whose just outside.”
“Jolyon?” Beryl replied - her eyes alight; this made Rei smile with curiosity.
The raven-haired girl took a second glance at Kunzite and Minako, each with a look of relief, surprise and something else in their expressions. Did she detect a hint of guilt there? She was extra watchful now. She looked back at Beryl and Rei had the situation all figured out and smiled a secret smile to herself.
‘Good for you, Beryl sweetheart,’ Rei thought.
“No, not Jolyon, but the next best thing!” she teased and Beryl actually blushed, “Usagi is here to wish you luck!”
“Awesome! Usagi!” she called out and the silver-clad dream mistress looked almost as sexy as her student did, though the cut of her bodice was far more modest. The dress fell to mid-thigh and her hair she wore loose shimmering in the light of the make-up mirror’s soft globes seemed so magical the way it shimmered.
“I am so glad you’re feeling better, Beryl,” Usagi said, sitting next to the J-pop diva and giving her a hug.
“Okay, I know. I’ve been a little under the weather of late, but I am changing all that. Usagi, I would love you to come out onstage during the Dedication to Gaea sequence.”
“Wow, I would love to, but all those people…”
“It is the high point of the show, the last ten minutes before we finish with the pyrotechnics gig!” Beryl gushed.
“You’ll be fine, Usagi,” Ami declared, hugging the blonde before crossing the room to join Zoisite on the huge black leather sofa.
He looked up from his cherry-red base guitar and smiled as she leaned in for a kiss. “Hi gorgeous,” he said, stroking Ami’s cheek.
“Hi!” she fixed him with those huge beautiful eyes and the conversation around them faded into the background.
Everyone was ready for the show, but unprepared for what else it held in store for them all.
---
"Welcome!" the booming disembodied voice said, as the sound of ancient winds swept over the excited audience; the amphitheater packed to capacity. "From times long past, the ancient ones of Olympia ruled this world and all the stars, but they loved the Earth so much they decided to leave one of their own behind as a gift to us all. A Goddess so beautiful, so powerful, and… so hot, that they keep coming back to behold her glory and to hear her sing… Tonight, as the shadows veil the stage, and the Gods of antiquity bear witness! I give you… Beryl Canoga and Dark…, Empress…, Butterfly!" the deep voice of Jolyon Knight dissolved into a flurry of heavy metal discord as the leading riff of "Lips of Death" Beryl's new single began and the holographic images of ghostly specters floated across the stage.
Beryl looked stunning as she strode onto the stage in a pair of knee- high-heeled boots, her hip-length red tresses flying about her comely form as she blew a kiss to the thousands of fans cheering like mad below the massive stage. Clad in a black wet leather mini-skirt; her top barely covering her breasts, consisting a garment of silver mesh spangled with onyx, diamonds, and rubies glittering under the surreal light constantly changing color through every song as she danced. She wore a solid gold pentagram on a chain around her neck that caught the light and seemed to possess its own etheric glow as she moved.
"Are you ready to rock?" she cried out and took in the refrain like a drug. "Well, let's give the Gods of old something to remember!"
She began a seductive dance, the music like that of an ancient Egyptian belly dance as she moved with grace, her movements snake-like as the music took control. Then the drums broke out into a solo that would have Pete Townsend, his band The Who spellbound, and drooling.
Beryl knelt, knees apart as she sang a sustained note. Her fans, jumping from below the stage's edge managing to brush her hands with their fingertips. Then, as if teasing her admirers, she rolled away and slid back out of reach.
The electronic keyboards of Minako blended in with the rhythmic drum solo of Kunzite, this adding more layers to the build-up of the first number. The ethereal lightshow began casting colors over the statue-like props that in actuality were the young archaeologists transmogrified by Medusa. These positioned behind Kunzite as his drumsticks ripped back and forth over the skins at lightning speed.
Beryl spun in a tight circle on her back, her legs like shapely weapons, as colorful lasers glittered over her tanned limbs adding to her sexual allure. With practiced skill and perfect poise, she was soon back on her feet and belting out the song that had been at number one all week upon its release.
The girls: Michiru, Haruka, Rei, Makoto, Setsuna, Hotaru and Ami on backing vocals harmonized with Beryl as she produced her polished black electric guitar and began to play. The crowds cheered as she unleashed a series of complex chords, and then the guys: Zoisite, Nephrite and Jadeite added their vocals. She sang each verse and the chorus in Japanese, English and Greek. The local fans loved her for it.
Holograms of Lord Poseidon dancing with several glittering sprites towered over the stage in the background; the effect compliments of Umino's skilled holo-editing genius.
The show ran for three fantastic hours uninterrupted before Medusa made her move.
"Are you still with me, everybody?" Beryl shouted and blew the audience a kiss, this winning her wolf whistles and screams of adoration.
She held the crowd in her hand. She moved with seductive poise and grace in a white leather mini skirt covered in gold crescents, a matching halter neck top, and the stunning quartz sandals revealing the purple nail polish on her glittering toes, she was sensational. During the scheduled breaks while the support act appeared on stage, she changed her outfit for each set. She looked incredibly hot. Catching the refracted light, her every step creating pools of vibrant color that spiraled about her ankles like snakes forming a double helix that slid up her legs and wrapped themselves around her lithe body. The effect driving the male contingent in the crowd crazy as w00ts rang out like a Mexican wave.
Beryl, her bejeweled red plait falling over her chest and thighs as she crouched to address her fans through the metallic white microphone, spoke in a husky voice, "Enjoying yourselves?" the audience responded in the affirmative as expected.
Then, to the cheers of the throng, a huge feathery serpent appeared behind the sexy rock diva. The hologram ambled across the stage, towering over the band. Its crystal spinal plates, horns, and purple body looked so real people gasped in awe. When the dinosaurian creature roared, Beryl faced the image and knelt on the floor, her body swaying in a sensual motion as the giant beast looked at her, lifting its head skyward and let out a complex guitar riff from its mouth and vanished as the band came into view for the next song.
Flashes of lightning gave the soft pale blue shadows behind the speaker towers an eerie countenance. Something was happening to the strange monuments, were they moving?
